Chapter 3: Neuroscience and Behavior © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neurons: The Basic Elements of Behavior From Neurons to Nervous System: The Biology Underlying Behavior © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Dendrites Receive messages from other neurons © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Axon Carries messages destined for other cells Myelin Sheath Wrapped around the axon providing a protective coating © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure All-or-none law Neurons are either on or off Resting state Negative electrical charge within a neuron Action potential An electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron, changing the cell’s charge from negative to positive © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Excitatory messages A chemical secretion that makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon Inhibitory messages A chemical secretion that prevents a receiving neuron from firing © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Neurotransmitters Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes to the cell body) of a receiver neuron Synapse A chemical connections that bridges the gap between two neurons © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Acetylcholine (Ach) Location Brain, spinal cord, peripheral nervous system, especially some of the organs of the parasympathetic nervous system Effect Excitatory in brain and autonomic nervous system; inhibitory elsewhere Function Muscle movement, cognitive functioning Acetylcholine (ACh) © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Glutamate Location Brain and spinal cord Effect Excitatory Function Memory Glutamate © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) Location Brain and spinal cord Effect Main inhibitory neurotransmitter Function Eating, aggression, sleeping Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Dopamine Location Brain Effect Inhibitory or excitatory Function Muscle disorders, mental disorders, Parkinson’s disease Dopamine © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Serotonin Location Brain and spinal cord Effect Inhibitory Function Sleeping, eating, mood, pain, depression Serotonin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuron: Basic Structure Endorphins Location Brain, spinal cord Effect Primarily inhibitory, except in hippocampus Function Pain suppression, pleasurable feelings, appetites, placebos Endorphins © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Neurotransmitters © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Nervous System and the Endocrine System © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Central Nervous System Spinal Cord Reflexes Sensory (Afferent) Neurons Motor (Efferent) Neurons Interneurons © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Peripheral Nervous System Somatic division Controls voluntary movement Autonomic division Controls that parts of the body that keep us alive – the heart, blood vessels, glands, lungs, etc. © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Peripheral Nervous System Two parts of the autonomic system Sympathetic Acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism’s resources to respond to a threat Parasympathetic Acts to calm the body after an emergency or stressful situation has ended © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Peripheral Nervous System © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Evolutionary Foundations of The Nervous System Evolutionary Psychology The branch of psychology that seeks to identify behavior patterns that are a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors Behavioral Genetics The study of the effects of heredity on behavior © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Endocrine System Endocrine system Sends messages throughout the nervous system Hormones Affect the functioning or growth of other parts of the body Pituitary gland The “master gland” © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Endocrine System © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Brain © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Spying On the Brain: Research Methods Electroencephalogram (EEG) Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Spying On the Brain: Research Methods Advances in brain imaging also have given rise to neuroforensics, the application of brain science, behavioral genetics, and neural imaging to legal questions © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Spying On the Brain: Research Methods © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The “Old” Brain Central core Controls basic functions like eating and sleeping Medulla Pons Reticular Formation © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The “Old” Brain Central core Cerebellum Controls balance Thalamus Relay station for information concerning senses Hypothalamus Maintains homeostasis and produces vital basic behavior © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Limbic System: Beyond the Central Core Part of the brain that controls eating, aggression, and reproduction Amygdala Hippocampus Fornix © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The “New” Brain Cerebral cortex Responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain 4 Lobes Association (Speech) areas Aphasia Broca’s area Wernicke’s area © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The “New” Brain Motor area Responsible for voluntary movements of particular parts of the body Sensory area Somatosensory area Auditory area Visual area © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mending the Brain Regeneration of neurons Stem cell research Neuroplasticity Changes in the brain that occur throughout the life span relating to the addition of new neurons, new interconnections between neurons, and the reorganization or information-processing areas © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Specialization of the Hemispheres Two symmetrical left and right halves of the brain that control the side of the body opposite to their location Lateralization The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain in specific functions © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Split Brain: Exploring the Two Hemispheres Surgically cutting the corpus callosum Split brain patients A person who suffers from independent functioning of the two halves of the brain Biofeedback Procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of muscles © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.